As the skeletal figure came closer, Coravel and Quis’Ari spoke to the figure, stating that they meant no harm. The creature then asked “Who are you and what do you want here?” Aramil turned invisible and Kaylord stayed in the background, doing a detect magic to see if there were other threats around them. Coravel and Quis’Ari told the figure about the group and that they meant no harm. Their words seemed to ease the lcreature who seemed friendlier to them. After some further discussion, they found out that the creature was Lorus Swiftquill, a former monk who had become a lich in order to protect the library. Due to his devotion to the library and keeping the knowledge alive, he fought off insanity and was not an evil creature. He provided some history of the library and also answered some questions of the group, after receiving some item of unique knowledge from them. The Strangers received the following information
- Pack of the NIght Wolf – Current emembers of the Pack – Leader – Johan Coalmane, male human cleric of Rovagug, Korlav the Lordless, male human monk, Rolad, rogue, Sabinn the Surly, female dwarven fighter, Tal Grimsteel, male human ranger (deceased), Khalid al-Azif, male human wizard (deceased)
- Paladins – Order of the Sundered Scale – Their sanctuary was located close by but protected from scrying. The paladins had been killed 30 years before in an ambush by the Pack of the Night Wolf. The Pack had been hired by the Thane of the duergar kingdom.
- Bleak Theater – A theater run by duergar that features fights between slaves. The slaves are brought from the surface through the caverns to the theater. Here they are either sold or used to fight in the theater as entertainment for the duergar and drow who meet in this neutral area. The fortress Narbor defends the area from attacks from the Underdeep. The Impresario is the master of the theater and has expanded the arena’s repertoire by adding battles and tournaments. The Thane of Narborg, Hrolad Vejik is the grandson of the founder of the duergar kingdom.
- One additional item of information can be obtained for a gnome book that was left with Lorus.
After getting the information, the group went back to Vulgaris’ cavern and continued the other way towards the running water. While exploring this cavern, they were ambushed by duergar. After a fierce battle, and killing all of the duergar, the group explored a cavern and found a folding boat along with some skiffs. The only way further seemed to be down the river, so they used the boat and skiffs to start floating. While moving along, Quis’Ari noticed a symbol in one wall that none of the others could see. The symbol reminder her of a modified version of the Iomedae symbol, with a sword impaling a dragon’s head. She also remembered that the symbol might indicate a secret door that could be opened by the used of divine magic by a good creature. She tried channeling and a door opened in the wall. The group quickly walked through and the door shut shortly after, with no evidence of its existence.
There were two passageways branching off from the entrance but the Strangers found they could only walk down one of the hallways, they could not proceed further down the other. They walked up the one hallway, finding a small room with a basin, then another door which opened up into a large main hall. At the end of the hall there was a statue of Iomedae, with doors going into other rooms.
As the group started exploring they heard banging against one of the doors and muffled yelling. As they went to check out the door, a figure suddenly burst out, yelling “THEY LEFT ME TO DIE!! THEY LEFT ME TO DIE!!!” while laughing insanely. The figure grappled Kaylord, while the others rushed into action. Coravel attacked the creature while Aramil used dimension door to take Kaylord to safety. Quis’Ari supported the party while Kaylord rejoined the action. The creature was quickly taken down once everyone had surrounded it.
When the room was examined, it was found that the burst door had been locked. There were scratches and dried blood in the room, which looked like a small cell. The interior of the room seemed colder than the outside. At this point the session ended.